Bepu N'Gali - I Travel to You

Bepu N'Gali - I Travel to YouYou can't pin down Uruguay's International Feel label. Their next release finds DJ Harvey paying homage to Berghain—itself a clash of worlds that provokes a momentary flash of cognitive dissonance—but first, they put their stamp on something very different: "I Travel to You," a relatively straight-up Afrobeat jam by Botswana's Bepu N'Gali and his 12-piece band, inspired by the musician's trip to Lagos. At least, that's what the press release claims, noting that N'Gali edited down the eight-minute track from a lengthy jam session. I'm suspicious, given the perfectly quantized kicks and the consistency of the percussion from bar to bar. But who cares? It's a righteous summer jam, flecked with waka-waka guitars, buoyed by chants and swollen horn charts, and led by a demure little flute (or synthesizer?) melody.

Three remixes take the track in clubbier, dubbier directions. Tim Love Lee's "Fully Bearded Dub" is exactly what the title promises: heavily dubbed-out Afro disco, with guitars and chants on the upbeats lending it the faintest hint of ska. The "Frisvold & Lindbaek meets Todd Terje Uptown" mix takes things in a darker, more streamlined direction via gravelly bass synth and tight 16th-note hi-hat patter, with distant horns providing a ghostly echo of the track's African source. Finally, Todd Terje's own remix avails itself of the original's rippling hand percussion, lays on silky chords and works itself into a frenzy of man/machine funk. The denouement is particularly nice, as congas and shakers disappear into a mist of echo and murmur.